For Victim of Bear Attack, Each Bite a Vivid Memory

Larry Steagall | Kitsap Sun
Bear attack victim Anthony Blasioli, left, of Port Orchard demonstrates the grip the black bear had on his head during a press conference with his mother, Janet, at Banner Forest Heritage Park on Monday.

Larry Steagall | Kitsap Sun
Bear attack victim Anthony Blasioli, at right and center, describes being attacked by a black bear while his mother Janet, right bottom and father, Anthony Sr., answer questions from the media at a press conference Monday at Banner Forest Heritage Park.

Larry Steagall | Kitsap Sun
A cameraman from a Seattle TV station videotapes the trail after a press conference Monday with the victim of a bear attack at Banner Forest Heritage Park.

Larry Steagall | Kitsap Sun
Anthony Blasioli will be fitted for a prosthetic ear following an attack by a bear that hospitalized him for almost a week. The bear ripped cartilage from his right ear.

SOUTH KITSAP

Standing at the entrance of the Banner Forest Heritage Park on Monday morning, Port Orchard resident Anthony Blasioli recounted what he thought were going to be the last minutes of his life.

"He had such control over me. He had it all," Blasioli said of a black bear that attacked him inside the park on Sept. 2.

"I just thought I was going to die that day."

Monday was the first time since the attack that Blasioli returned to the park where he used to ride his mountain bike every weekend. Flanked by his father, Anthony Sr., and his mother, Janet, Blasioli spoke publicly for the first time about the ride that put him face-to-face with the bear.

The 51-year-old had been riding for between 45 minutes and an hour through a narrow, bumpy trail when he ran into the bear. He was with his two dogs, 10-month-old Pine and 4-year-old Oak. His dogs were not leashed and were ahead of him on the trail.

Blasioli heard Pine give a couple of barks and assumed that another park user was on the trail ahead of him. He got off his bike, planning to make his dogs heel while the person passed by.

Moving forward, he realized his dogs were gone. The bear was in front of him.

"He was too close and too quick. I had no chance to decide what to do," he said. "It's surreal. You don't understand this is happening. At one point I thought 'This is it, I'm going to die.'"

Ripping through the trail, the bear went straight for Blasioli's head, and the man fell backward into the brush. He was on his back with his feet up near the bear's face. Blasioli kicked, trying to fight back.

The bear bit directly into his bicycle helmet, tearing out a chunk of foam along with the cartilage from his right ear. The bear also ripped the muscle from his arm and shoulder.

"At one point, he bit my side and did one of those bite and jiggle things," he described. "I thought 'There goes a bunch of meat there.'"

A spiritual man, Blasioli said he called on God during the attack.

"I don't remember what I said exactly, but I asked God, 'I don't want to die today,'" he said. Almost immediately after praying, Blasioli said the bear stopped attacking him and ran off.

Using adrenaline and his desire to live as strength, the Boeing software developer got back on his bike and rode toward the trail head. There he met Central Kitsap residents Gaye and George Barthold, who called 911.

South Kitsap Fire and Rescue crews arrived within minutes and transported Blasioli to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma where he stayed for almost a week. He has been home for 10 days.

Most of his facial wounds have healed, but small scars are visible on his forehead and chin where he said the bear almost ripped his lip off. He also has black stitches along his right ear where his cartilage once was. All that remains is a lobe.

He has feeling in his left arm, but because his biceps and triceps were sewn together to recreate his muscle, doctors aren't sure how much movement he will regain.

Still sore and trying to heal physically and emotionally, Blasioli said it will likely be a while before he heads back into Banner Park for his regular two-hour bike rides. When he does return, he plans to ride with a partner.

His mother and father, Pittsfield, Mass., residents, have been in town since the day after the attack and said they're happy their only son is still alive. They plan to return home in another week, Janet Blasioli said.

"We're hoping that someone will take care of him while we're gone because we don't know when he'll drive again," she said. She added neighbors and friends have been very kind, dropping off food and showing their support since her son returned home.